Ch. 13
New Recruits

What may have been a few hours seemed to pass in just a few minutes. I was woken up by something gently nudging my shoulders. I tried to move away from it, but it persisted.

"Fuck… what…" I groaned irritably.

I managed to force my eyes open, and it took me a moment to remember that I was in the elf camp. I could see sunlight through the tent, which flapped from the wind outside.

I rubbed my eyes as I slowly sat up, and I could feel someone's hand move off my shoulder. When my vision cleared, I could see Stan crouching at the tent entrance, poking his head in.

"Hey, it's morning," he stated, sounding slightly groggy. "We're getting ready for the meeting. The rest of the humans will be here soon."

I yawned and nodded. "O-okay… gimme a minute."

Stan nodded and stood up. I slowly made my way out of the tent and got to my feet, stretching my arms and shoulders. Despite sleeping in a cheaply made tent on the ground, I didn't have any knots. Maybe I was too tired to care or notice.

"Come with me," said Stan. "The king wants to see you."

Before I could ask why he turned and started to walk away. I shrugged before following him, redoing my messy hair in a half up do.

The area around us had been cleared and the platform that held the throne was empty. Two elves seemed to be setting up a projector while a few more had just started to set up chairs. The Elf King was standing by the platform, looking at something on his phone that was causing him to frown.

Stan and I both walked up to stand beside him, bowing our heads in unison.

"My king."

Kyle turned, and his expression changed as he smiled at me.

"Ah, Commander Ash," he greeted warmly. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence. You sleep alright?"

I nodded. "Actually, yeah. Thanks for that."

"Of course."

"Any word from the humans of Kuppa Keep?" Stan asked, hands on his hips.

"The Wizard King and a few of his allies have confirmed that they're coming, but nobody's arrived yet," Kyle glanced at his phone before looking at me again. "We've just started getting set up, we could use an extra pair of hands if you're willing."

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? Need more chairs?"

"Yes, please. Just ask the others."

I nodded before turning to make my way towards the elves setting up the chairs. The three closest boys looked cautiously at me but didn't seem threatening. I cleared my throat.

"Um, hey. Need some help with those?"

They looked at each other for a moment before a boy with black hair looked back and nodded.

"Sure. We already got them all out, we just gotta set them up."

"Okay."

I walked with them over to the stacks of chairs set by the porch. I managed to grab one in each hand with ease. An elf with brunette hair, who was only holding one with both hands, blinked in surprise.

"So… what're your names?" I asked after a moment.

"I'm Tom," the boy with black hair nodded his head at the other two. "That's Even and Jason."

The two boys nodded without response.

"Well, nice to officially meet you all," I stated as I set up the chairs I had carried.

Tom fiddled with the chair he had been carrying a little longer than was necessary before he turned to face me. My hand instinctively twitched for my wand, but I stopped myself. If the elf noticed, he didn't comment on it.

"I… don't know if you remember me," Tom uttered. "I was the one you spared during the battle at school."

"Oh?"

"I was pretty low on health already. I might not have been able to make it home if you hadn't stopped your archer. So… thank you."

Well, this was unexpected. I grinned and nodded.

"No problem. No sense in getting you guys grounded, right? Wouldn't be able to play otherwise."

Tom smiled.

I had expected the set up to remain in awkward silence, but the elf boys were surprisingly chatty. They told me how impressed they were by my fight last night, and even asked me about my own personal battle strategies. Considering I had been kicking their ass for two days straight, it shouldn't have surprised me that they would want to learn. We even had a good laugh reminiscing how badly I stomped Cartman into the ground. One boy excitedly recounted how awesome it was when I busted his nose with my forehead.

30 minutes later, the first of the humans started arriving. Craig, Scott, and Butters where the first to come, all looking around the kingdom nervously. They must have been worried about this being some sort of trap, but they got over it quickly.

"Ash!" Butters ran up to me as I set down the last chair. "H-how're you feelin'? You doin' okay?"

I grinned at him. "Yeah, a lot better now."

"Need me to change your bandages?"

"Huh- oh."

I glanced down at my hands, noticing the bandages still wrapped tightly around my knuckles. I had momentarily forgotten about those.

"No, I think I'm fine. Did you get in trouble with your folks?"

"Nah, I was able to sneak in without them noticin'."

"Thank god, I was worried you'd get in trouble because of me."

Butters shook his head. "Aw, d-don't worry about that. I've learned how to be a little more sneaky, they don't always catch me."

I chuckled as his face turned pink. There was silence for a moment as he looked at the ground and I rubbed my arm nervously.

"So…" Butters' head snapped up as I spoke. "About last night…"

Butters gulped loudly. "Y-yeah?"

"E-excuse me."

I turned around and was surprised to see the Bard making his way towards me. Butters took a step closer to me, his hand going to his hammer, but I raised my hand to tell him no. He stopped but didn't move his hand from his belt.

"If you don't m-m-mind, I have a favor to ask of you, C-C-Co-Commander."

I raised an eyebrow as I turned to look at Butters, who was staring firmly at the elf. I took a step forward to address the Bard.

"You need a favor from me too, huh?"

"P-Please, hear me out. It's for a good c-cause."

I folded my arms. "What is it?"

"Wh-whatever happens today, we'll have to face Clyde eventually. I need to be m-m-more powerful if I am to face his army."

"How can I help?"

"I need a fl-flute, every good bard should have one. I could play f-f-fantastic melodies that could assist me in entertainment and b-battle. Facebook says that the rancher might be selling one, and I would greatly ap-a-appreciate some assistance. Especially since we have no idea how many zombies may be out there."

I glanced away at the ground. Though I hated to admit it, the Bard did give me a run for my money when I fought him. If getting him a flute would improve his skills, that could be a huge advantage for us when we would inevitably face Clyde. I turned to looked at Butters, who rolled his eyes before giving a stiff nod.

"Let's see how the meeting goes first," I told him. "If things go well, Butters and I can assist you."

The Bard bowed his head. "Th-thank you. I will see you after the meeting."

The elf turned and shuffled away to find a seat. Butters sighed as he turned and slumped in his chair, looking annoyed.

"What?"

"I still don't trust 'em."

"Come on, dude, you know this is for the best."

"We've been at war with them for a thousand years, Ash. You can't expect this to be easy."

"Smart choices are never easy."

Butters didn't seem to have a response for that, resorting to folding his arms and staring at the ground. I sighed.

"I'll see you when the meeting starts?"

"Yes, sir."

I nodded as I walked towards the back of the set up. A handful of other boys had arrived and had started to take their seats along with some elves. The Elf King was standing near the sliding glass door that led back into the house, hands clutched behind his back. He seemed stiffer than before.

I took a deep breath as I walked up to stand beside. He glanced over at me for a moment but otherwise didn't respond. I cleared my throat.

"Waiting to welcome your longtime nemesis?" I asked.

"Mostly making sure he's not taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble," he responded. "Centuries of fighting doesn't go away overnight."

"Unless there's a threat greater than either of you."

"Touché."

There was a moment of silence. I fiddled with my hands as I tried to think of something to say.

"I… really appreciate all of your help, Commander," the King spoke suddenly. "I know that neither I nor the wizard have been easy to deal with, especially with everything else going on, but I'm glad we're on the same side on this."

"Are we?" I asked. "That hasn't been confirmed by anyone yet, and I doubt everyone would agree immediately."

"Well, hopefully what I've seen will change that."

"Your spies got the goods then?"

"In a manner of speaking, though I wouldn't describe it as good."

I wanted to ask what he meant but was interrupted as the glass door slid open.

Somehow, Cartman looked worse than he had last night. One of his eyes was still swollen and there was dark bruising around his nose, which was covered in a white bandage. I wondered what he had told his mother when she saw it. Knowing who he is, I doubted he told her the truth.

"Here we go," the Elf King muttered to himself.

The Wizard King's steps seemed to faulter for a moment when he saw us, but quickly picked up once more. His grip on his staff was tight as he marched up to us. Kyle remained still, hands behind his back, frowning at the other boy. Both kings stood glaring at each other.

"Wizard."

"Jew Elf."

I placed a hand on my hip as I glared at the boy I once called my king, who turned his head to face me.

"Don't get full of yourself just because you won last night. You're still just a mage, and everyone knows that wizards are way fucking cooler."

"Is that what you told your mommy when she was patching up your boo-boos?"

Kyle lowered his head slightly as he snorted, and Cartman's face started to turn red. He grumbled and cursed before pushing past us, flipping me off as he walked away. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm surprised he didn't blow up on me. I should kick his ass more often."

"You'd be doing everyone a favor if you did," Kyle turned to face me. "Alright, we should get started. Take a seat in the front, Commander. You're gonna want to see this."

I nodded before making my way to the front row. Most of the boys had settled down, most staying with their respective groups. The only empty chair in the front was right in the middle, separating the humans and elves sitting with me. It was a small step in the right direction, but a step, nonetheless. The only problem was that I was seated right next to Cartman, who had taken the seat next to Butters. I guess he didn't want to sit next to any elves. He blinked at me when he realized I was walking over and glared at the snow as he scratched the side of his bruised nose. I rolled my eyes as I sat in the empty seat.

"You need to switch?" Stan, who was sitting on my other side, whispered to me.

I huffed and shook my head. "I think I'm good, but thanks."

He nodded before leaning away. The Elf King walked across the platform that previously held his throne and stood in the center. His eyes scanned the crowd in front of him for a moment before raising his head.

"Humans and Elves of Zaron," the king started. "A great evil has descended upon us. After researching last night, I believe we are facing a threat to our entire world. Last night I sent some of my best scouts to spy on Clyde and his supposed kingdom. They were able to get pictures as well as more information."

He took a remote out of his pocket and aimed it at the projector. An image of what had to be Clyde's backyard appeared on the sheet, where there sat a tall, dark, surprisingly detailed castle. It appeared to be at least 3 stories tall, covered in red spikes and a flaming torch on top of a tower. It was even surrounded by a moat and had a makeshift drawbridge.

My mouth fell open slightly as I stared at the image. Unless Clyde had superpowers, there was no way he would have been able to build a castle that large and detailed by himself in less than two days.

"Clyde's Fortress of Darkness is four stories tall and surrounded by a moat. My scouts believe there may be traps in the water as well," Kyle flipped to a close-up picture of the moat and bridge, then to an image of several kids of various ages in dark clothes. I thought they might have been more goth kids, but after looking a second longer I realized they were a bit different. "In addition to using the green goo to create zombies, he seems to have obtained help from the Emos and the Vampires. So far, he has recruited at least 50 warriors to be on his team, and he is…"

He stopped talking as a loud, clear snickering erupted from beside me. I turned to see Cartman laughing into his hand and muttering to Butters on his other side. While I couldn't make out everything he said, I definitely heard him say Kyle's name. Kyle heard it, too.

"You have something to say, wizard?"

"Oh nothing," the Wizard King was still laughing as he spoke up. "It's just… kinda funny how Drow Elves in the Middle Ages can use PowerPoint."

Cartman continued laughing to himself. I rolled my eyes and facepalmed.

"Fuck me…" I muttered.

"You guys, this is serious!" Kyle spoke loudly as he stared over the crowd. "Clyde is attempting to raise an army of darkness; I believe he is messing with something he cannot control. He has recruited many of our friends and so… our only hope is for our two factions… to join forces."

I nodded. This is what we needed; a common enemy to unite the kingdoms. But, as I predicted, it seemed not everyone was excited about the idea.

"Fuck! That!" Cartman spat. "We do not team up with fucking elves."

"You got a better idea, Wizard Fatasss?" Stan snapped at him.

"Don't pretend like you forgot about the Battle of Wormsley Woods," Buttered added angrily from Cartman's other side. "How do you expect us to trust you?"

"Yeah, you tell 'em, Butters!"

"That was Jimmy's fault and he apologized."

"OH, we're apologizing now. How about we apologize for breaking the rule about using arcane fire magic?"

"That was the human's rule, not ours!"

"HEY!"

The crowd fell silent as I yelled. I whipped around in my seat to look at them all.

"Fighting each other isn't going to solve this problem. Most of you have only seen what that goo can do, you haven't had to fight it before. If Clyde can find a way to control it, we'll all be fucking doomed."

"Commander Ash is right," added the Elf King. "Whether we are human or elf isn't gonna matter one bit if all of Zaron is taken over by German zombies. We all saw what that green stuff does, Commander Ash has fought it firsthand. We better figure out a way to stop Clyde or there won't be a world to fight in!"

"Even if we join forces, we don't have enough warriors," Stan added defeatedly.

"Are there other factions we can call for?" I asked. "The Goths, Emos and Vampires can't be it, right?"

The Elf King shook his head. "No, Commander. There are a few more factions we can turn to that could tip the scale in our favor. The Pirates, the Federation, and… the girls."

"The girls?!" Butter gasped.

"Kyle, the girls are not gonna fucking play with us!"

"Yeah dude, we can't convince girls to do this."

"Ahem!"

All of the surrounding boys looked at me as I coughed loudly. I folded my arms as I glared back at all of them.

"Seriously?"

"It's not like that, Ash," Stan said quickly. "It's just… they never want to play stuff like this with us. It's not like we've never tried."

"Speak for your-fucking-self," Cartman snapped, folding his arms.

Kyle raised his hands up and spoke loudly. "Everyone, order. I know we may not be able to convince them, but I believe the Commander can."

"Me?"

"Commander Ash seems to have a power we have yet to understand. In addition to having impressive magic, she makes friends on Facebook faster than any we have seen."

All of the boys around me started muttering to themselves, seeming to agree. Even Cartman nodded irritably.

"She is really good at getting Facebook friends, I'll give her that."

"Plus, the fact that you're a girl might help convince them," Tolkin added. "They might be more willing to join if you ask them."

I glanced around at everyone before looking up at the Elf King. "What should I do? Where can I find them?"

"I happen to know where one girl hangs out to play, we will go to her and ask to see the others. We will find a way to get the girls to side with us, Commander Ash. Our victory depends on it."

I blinked up at him, slightly surprised. We? The Elf King raised his head.

"I have assigned some of my best warriors to gather the other factions, any humans that wish to help them would be more than appreciated. The rest of you, return to your stations, and prepare for war!"

The crowd of boys raised their fists, shouting "Huzza!" before standing up. I got up from my chair as Kyle stepped off of the podium, making his way towards me. I swallowed.

"So, what happens now?"

"You and I will go find the girls and plead our case. They're one of the larger factions and their help would be beneficial to us."

I blinked in surprise. "You… wanna go with me?"

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Of course. It'll be more difficult to convince them, and you'll need all the help you can get. Not that I don't think you're capable," he added quickly. "I just… I think this is of the utmost importance and I should assist."

I took a deep breath and straightened up, trying to seem unaffected. I had no idea that the Elf King intended to help me directly. Surely, he just wanted to be sure that the work got done, no other reason. This could be fun!

"Yeah… that sounds good to me," I said, trying to sound casual. "I think it'd be fun to see if a king like yourself can measure up."

Kyle raised an eyebrow as he smirked. "I guess you can afford to be cocky when you're this powerful, huh?"

I chuckled even as I felt my face grow warm at the look he gave me. That's like the tenth time it's happened in the last three days. What's wrong with me?

"Commander!"

I stopped and turned to see Butters standing behind me, hands on his hips, looking ready for adventure.

"You ready to find new recruits? Or did you wanna find that flute first?"

"Flute?" Kyle asked.

I groaned. "Yeah, I forgot. The Bard asked for my help in getting him a flute to improve his power. I said I could help, but I'm not sure if I'll have time now."

"Oh yeah, he mentioned wanting a flute earlier. I'm sure I could send a few warriors to assist him."

"We can take care of it," Butters said firmly.

I raised a hand to my chin, thinking it over. I wanted to help the Bard, but we desperately needed more recruits. What's that saying? Divide and conquer?

"We can get both done," I turned to look at Butters. "Butters, I want you to go with the Bard and retrieve the flute. Take more warriors if you think you'll need backup. Kyle and I will try to find the other girls and see if we can get them to fight for us."

Butters' shoulders lowered, looking slightly defeated, though I wasn't sure why at first. He had taken all of my previous orders rather well, even when we fought alongside Stan in the military set up at the mall. Perhaps… he really wanted to go with me today? I didn't want to get my hopes up but after everything that had been said, but I couldn't help but hope.

"As you wish, Commander," he said softly, bowing his head slightly.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning to search for the Bard. I swallowed hard as I felt a small pit appear in my stomach. A hand suddenly grasped my shoulder and I turned to see the Elf King beside me.

"Come, my lady. You should get yourself upgraded before we venture out."

"Upgraded?"

"How long has it been since you've upgraded your equipment?"

"Well, I got a new ability during the battle at school, and I got a new wand right before. I've had my crossbow for a while, but I haven't had any problems with it."

"Indeed, you're a very good shot. Why don't you come look at our weapons stand, see if anything can fit your technique."

"Really?"

The king nodded before turning to make his way across the yard, and I started to follow him. I remained just behind him as we approached the stand. An elf with brown hair was standing at the front polishing his sword.

"We elves craft the finest shit in the land. What do yah want?"

"Well… what kind of bows you got?"

"Check 'em out."

I had to admit, the elves had some nice gear. Their armor was sturdy, and their weapons were impressive, but I kept my gaze on their selection of bows and arrows. One particular bow caught my eye. The grip was wrapped in light blue fabric, and the limbs were made of what appeared to be made of scrap aluminum, probably from soda cans. The limbs also had gagged ends going all along the ends. I guess it was supposed to double as a melee weapon.

I reached out and carefully grasped the handle. I examined it closely, holding it up to me and pulling the string back. It seemed comfortable to hold and use.

"That's one of our strongest battle bows," the Elf King said behind me. "Level 11. Great for long range and close combat, and it fires three arrows at a time."

I nodded. "Gotta admit, it's nice. I'll take it."

The brunette nodded. "23 bucks, please."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out some money, handing it over to the boy. I grabbed a few extra arrows before stepping away, strapping my new bow to my back. Kyle looked at me for a few moments before shaking his head, gripping his golfclub staff tighter.

"Ready to go, Commander?"

I nodded. "Whenever you're ready, Your Majesty."